San Antonio brides preparing to walk down the aisle in Alfred Angelo gowns are instead running to local bridal stores after the long-time designer abruptly apparently closed shop Thursday and left customers in a lurch.

Several local San Antonio areas stores, and some national chains, are now working to help clean up the mess. At least three San Antonio stores contacted mySA.com in hopes of reaching brides who were left without dresses or answers.

All the while, Alfred Angelo has continued to remain silent on the unfolding drama. The company filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation on Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Imagine waking up weeks or days before a bride walks down the aisle only to hear that her dress may be held up in bankruptcy. Angeli Kakade (@angelikakade) has the story.

Media: Brandpoint

Roman and Rafaela Garcia, a husband-wife team who owns Bridal Connection in Stone Oak, kept their 923 North Loop 1604 location open late on Thursday to accommodate panicked brides and are planning in the coming weeks to work with designers to forgo rush fees, keep seamstresses on hand in-house and discount dresses as much as possible, depending on style and budget.

They said they've had at least six brides rush into their store in a "complete panic" since yesterday and their phones have been "steadily" ringing with calls from women setting up appointments.

One Alfred Angelo customer they spoke to was told she had to pick up her dress in less than an hour or she would lose it, they said.

"This the worst case scenario for a bride," Roman Garcia said. "You can get another DJ or caterer, but when you find your dream dress and lose it — it's really sad."

Over in the Alamo Heights area, Lauren Bracken is also doing her best to help bridal parties. She owns Bella Bridesmaid at 5800 Broadway and is welcoming victims of the debacle — and one former Alfred Angelo employee who was reportedly one of many to lose her job overnight.

Bracken said that although her shop is not bridal gown-heavy, she is doing her best to work with vendors to alleviate this "nightmare."

One of the brides she spoke with is one month out from her wedding and without a gown after she sent it into one of the two San Antonio locations for alterations.

Bracken said the local bridal-based businesses are "reeling" and "shocked" this happened.

"Thing like this hurt everyone involved [in the industry]," she added. "We have to make sure the consumer trusts everyone and make sure there's someone there to help them."

She said Hayley Paige, Amsale and other designers she works with are offering discounts and waving rush fees to ensure brides have their dresses on time.

Adriana Khalil Peden owns Khalil & Co., a wedding hair and makeup salon at 8746 Wurzbach Road. She planned expand with a bridal boutique opening on Aug. 22, but moved up the date after witnessing a group of customers crying outside one of the Alfred Angelo locations.

"When it happened, I thought (Alfred Angelos) would take their time to liquidate stuff so I had gone over there to buy stock wedding gowns to add to my inventory," she said. "Brides were crying, one was shaking the door — people were hysterical."

With the opening pushed up by a month, Peden described shopping at her store as "not the most glamorous experience."

"But, we'll make it work," she said, adding that she can offer up to 50 percent discounts depending on the dress. "If I can help you, I will."

While local stores are doing what they can, national retailers — like David's Bridal — are stepping up to the plate. They announced on Friday that affected brides with an Alfred Angel receipt would receive "special discounts" at their U.S. stores.

The local retailers mentioned in this article also ask for brides and bridesmaids to bring in receipts or other proof of purchase.

"I can't imagine if that happened to me, it's supposed to be the happiest day of your life," Peden said. "How do you do that to somebody?"